[April 30, 2013] Detroit named one of four finalists to host series of ESPN X Games Tweet Apr 30, 2013 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Some might argue that 27-year-old Kevin Krease made an extreme decision this February when he quit his job to devote himself full-time to organizing Detroit's bid to host the ESPN Summer X Games. The Midtown resident and Grosse Pointe native even persuaded an old college buddy, Garret Kohler, 26, to quit his computer engineering position at Groupon, the Chicago-based daily deals site, and move to Detroit to help out. On Tuesday, their audacity looked a bit more ingenious. ESPN, the worldwide sports network, named Detroit one of its four finalists to host a series of three consecutive Summer X Games, from 2014 through 2016. The other competing cities are Chicago, Austin and Charlotte. In coming weeks X Games officials are expected to tour finalist cities and scrutinize each bid package and financing plan. ESPN said it will announce the winner late summer. "I think we can win it," said Krease, founder and director of the Detroit X Games bid committee, and a former employee of book publisher Cenage Learning. "But there's a lot of work that needs to be done, and you definitely can't do that with a day job." Launched in 1995, the globally televised X Games is the unofficial Olympics for action sports, including skateboarding and BMX biking competitions. It was originally called the "Extreme Games" and specializes in showcasing visually stunning aerial maneuvers. Thirteen cities including Detroit submitted preliminary bids in hopes of making Tuesday's cut. The summer version of X Games has been held in and around Los Angeles for the past 10 years. The Detroit bid committee has been busy securing financial commitments to host the games from an undisclosed number of local sponsors. ESPN will cover a portion of the games' total cost, estimated at $15 million to $20 million. Krease said the local financial requirements are still being negotiated. "We wouldn't be a finalist if we didn't have serious people sitting at the table with ESPN now to make this work," he said. If ESPN's news release announcing finalists is any indication, Detroit may be the front runner. The sports network devoted far more ink to Detroit than the other three hopefuls, praising the bid committee's website and its lively Facebook and Twitter marketing campaigns. "Detroit has been the most vociferous in its desire to host the games, at least on social media," ESPN said in the release, also noting that Dan Gilbert, owner of Quicken Loans and the Cleveland Cavaliers, has lent his support to the effort. Gilbert will become chairman of the Detroit X Games host committee if the bid wins, Krease said. Detroit's application to ESPN also included letters of support from many big names, including Gov. Rick Snyder, Mayor Dave Bing, City Council President Charles Pugh, Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand and Detroit Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker. With help from Susan Sherer, director of Detroit's 2006 Super Bowl XL host committee, Krease and another friend started putting together the city's X Games bid late last year. That friend, Ian Studders, still helps out, but was not able to leave his job to go full-time on the bid. Krease and Kohler, fraternity brothers at Miami University in Ohio, now direct the X Games bid as roommates from a Midtown condo. ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]